Lawrence Jay Duplass Jr. (born March 7, 1973)[1] is an American filmmaker, actor and author widely known for his films The Puffy Chair (2005), Cyrus (2010), and Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011), made in collaboration with his younger brother, Mark Duplass.
Jay Duplass | |
|---|---|
 Duplass in 2011 | |
| Born | Lawrence Jay Duplass Jr. March 7, 1973 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Education | Jesuit High School |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at Austin (BA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Spouse | Jen Tracy |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Mark Duplass (brother), Katie Aselton (sister-in-law) |
Duplass starred in the Amazon Video comedy-drama series Transparent (2014–2019), and co-created the HBO comedy-drama series Togetherness (2015–16) and the HBO anthology series Room 104 (2017–2020).
Early life
editDuplass was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Cynthia (née Ernst) and Lawrence Duplass.[2][3][4] He was raised in a Catholic family,[5][6] and attended Jesuit High School. Duplass graduated from the University of Texas at Austin; he started a Masters of Fine Arts degree in film at UT but withdrew in the first few months to pursue independent film projects.[7] His ancestry includes French Cajun, Italian, Ashkenazi Jewish, and German.[8][9]
Career
editDirecting
editDuplass attributes much of his and his brother's love for film to his appreciation for Raising Arizona. In an interview with Robert K. Elder for The Film That Changed My Life,[10] Duplass speculates on what might have happened had he not seen the film in his youth.
I probably wouldn't be making movies—seriously. It held over for so long. It really was the root of everything that Mark and I always hold ourselves to in making movies. That is to say that Raising Arizona is the most inspired movie that I have ever seen.[10]
In 2015, Mark and Jay Duplass via their Duplass Brothers Television label signed an overall deal with HBO.[11]
Acting
editIn 2014, he starred as Josh Pfefferman in the Amazon Prime Original Comedy-Drama Series Transparent, alongside Jeffrey Tambor, Gaby Hoffmann, Amy Landecker and Judith Light. The series was met with widespread critical acclaim, earning 11 Primetime Emmy nominations, including nominations for Best Comedy Series and Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Jeffrey Tambor. In the second season of the show, Duplass's role became more prominent, and he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Prior to Transparent, Duplass had never acted in a featured part. He was talking with director Joey Soloway at a dinner party about the difficulty they were having finding an actor to play what would end up being Duplass's role. After suggesting many actors for the part to Soloway, Soloway turned to Duplass and told him that he should play the part.[12]
Favorite films
editIn 2012, Duplass participated in the Sight & Sound film polls of that year. Held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, contemporary directors were asked to select ten films of their choice.[13]
- American Movie (USA, 1999)
- The Big Lebowski (USA, 1998)
- Close-Up (Iran, 1990)
- The Horse Boy (USA, 2009)
- Raising Arizona (USA, 1987)
- Rocky (USA, 1976)
- The Thin Blue Line (USA, 1989)
- Tootsie (USA, 1982)
- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (USA, 1966)
- A Woman Under the Influence (USA, 1974)
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Credited as | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Producer | ||
| 2005 | The Puffy Chair | Yes | Yes | Uncredited |
| 2008 | Baghead | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2010 | Cyrus | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2011 | Jeff, Who Lives at Home | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2012 | The Do-Deca-Pentathlon | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2017 | Table 19 | No | Story | No |
| Outside In | No | Yes | Executive | |
| 2018 | Prospect | No | Yes | No |
Executive producer only
- Lovers of Hate (2010)
- Black Rock (2012)
- Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
- Bad Milo! (2013)
- The Skeleton Twins (2014)
- The One I Love (2014)
- Adult Beginners (2014)
- Tangerine (2015)
- Manson Family Vacation (2015)
- The Bronze (2015)
- The Overnight (2015)
- 6 Years (2015)
- Rainbow Time (2016)
- Asperger's Are Us (2016)
- Blue Jay (2016)
- Take Me (2017)
- Duck Butter (2018)
- Unlovable (2018)
- Paddleton (2019)
- Horse Girl (2020)
- Young Hearts (2021)
- Drought (2021)
- As of Yet (2021)
- The MisEducation of Bindu (2021)
- Language Lessons (2021)
- Not Going Quietly (2021)
- 7 Days (2021)
- Spin Me Round (2022)
- Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off (2022)
- The Drop (2023)
- Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed (2023)
- Biosphere (2023)
- Last Stop Larrimah (2023)
- Jazzy (2024)
- I’ll Show You Mine (TBA)
- The Knife (TBA)
Television
edit| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Executive Producer | Writer | |||
| 2015–2016 | Togetherness | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-creator |
| 2014 | Wedlock | No | Yes | No | |
| 2016–2018 | Animals. | No | Yes | No | |
| 2017–2020 | Room 104 | No | Yes | No | Co-creator |
| 2018 | Co-Ed | No | Yes | No | |
| Evil Genius | No | Yes | No | Documentary series | |
| Wild Wild Country | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2019 | On Tour with Asperger's Are Us | No | Yes | No | |
| Shook | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2020 | Search Party | Yes | No | No | Directed 2 episodes |
| 2021 | The Lady and the Dale | No | Yes | No | Documentary series |
| Sasquatch | No | Yes | No | ||
| Cinema Toast | Yes | Yes | Yes | Wrote & directed 1 episode | |
| 2024 | American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders | No | Yes | No | Documentary series |
Short film
edit| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Producer | Writer | |||
| 1996 | Connect 5 | No | Yes | No | |
| 2002 | The New Brad | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2003 | This is John | Yes | No | No | |
| 2003 | Death for Sale | No | Yes | No | |
| 2004 | Scrapple | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2005 | The Intervention | Yes | No | No | |
| 2011 | Kevin | Yes | Yes | Yes | Documentary short |
| Maurice | No | No | Executive | Documentary short | |
| Authoritative Sources | Yes | No | No | Segment of Slacker 2011 | |
| 2020 | The Ride | No | No | Executive | |
Acting roles
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Nights and Weekends | James' brother | |
| 2011 | Slacker 2011 | Boyfriend | |
| 2015 | Manson Family Vacation | Nick | |
| Paper Towns | English Teacher | ||
| 2016 | Rainbow Time | Adam | |
| 2017 | Landline | Ben | |
| Beatriz at Dinner | Alex | ||
| Outside In | Chris Connelly | ||
| 2018 | Prospect | Damon | |
| Duck Butter | Jay | ||
| The Oath | Clark Stewart | ||
| 2019 | Pink Wall | Leon | |
| Phil | Malcolm | ||
| 2020 | Horse Girl | Ethan | |
| Shithouse | Professor Notkin | Uncredited | |
| 2022 | Ghostwritten | Guy Laury | |
| 2023 | The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial | Lieutenant Allen Bird MD | |
| Pain Hustlers | Larkin |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–2017 | The Mindy Project | Duncan Deslaurier | 13 episodes |
| 2014–2019 | Transparent | Josh Pfefferman | 38 episodes |
| 2016 | Animals. | Dennis (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2017–2020 | Search Party | Elijah | 7 episodes |
| 2017 | Room 104 | Daniel | Episode: "I Knew You Weren't Dead" |
| 2019 | Drunk History | John C. Lilly | Episode: "Drugs" |
| Stumptown | Alan | Episode: "Missed Connections" | |
| 2021 | The Chair | Bill Dobson | 6 episodes |
| Cinema Toast | (voice) | 1 episode | |
| 2022 | Industry | Jesse Bloom | 7 episodes |
| 2024 | Percy Jackson and the Olympians | Hades | Episode: "We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of" |
| TBA | Dying for Sex | Steve | Upcoming miniseries |
Bibliography
edit- Like Brothers (2018) (with Mark Duplass)
Accolades
edit| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Peabody Awards | Entertainment | Somebody Somewhere | Nominated | [14] |
References
edit- ^ "Jay Duplass - United States Public Records". FamilySearch. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- ^ "Low budget and brotherly". Los Angeles Times. July 3, 2006. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ King, Susan (July 6, 2006). "Puffy Chair carves out a living". Newsbank.com.
- ^ "Mr. John Anthony Ernst, Jr. obituary". Stei-23818.tributes.com. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ Hood, Shannon (March 19, 2010). "SXSW Interview: 'Cyrus' Directors Mark and Jay Duplass". The Flickcast. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ "Jay Duplass Talks Moving To The Mainstream At The 2011 Savannah Film Festival". Indiewire. March 2, 2012. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ Kelly, Christopher (July 2012). "Sibling Revelry". Texas Monthly.
- ^ Lamble, David (March 28, 2013). "The Bay Area Reporter Online". Ebar.com. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ "Jay Duplass Doesn't Want to be a Coen Brother Anymore". The New Yorker. 17 July 2022.
- ^ a b Elder, Robert K. (2011). "Interview with Jay Duplass". The Film That Changed My Life. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. p. 209. ISBN 9781556528255.
- ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (2015-06-16). "Duplass Brothers Ink Overall Deal with HBO". Variety. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ Lincoln, Kevin (6 January 2016). "After Years Directing Indie Films, Transparent Star Jay Duplass Found Himself in an Unlikely Place: In Front of the Camera". Vulture. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ "Jay Duplass". BFI. Archived from the original on February 23, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ Voyles, Blake (September 20, 2023). "83rd Peabody Award Nominees". Retrieved September 20, 2023.